


I use to call you my brother. (Maybe I could call you that again)

by Localcryptid420



Series: Brothers [3]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Brotherly Angst, Brotherly Bonding, Come get y'all protective!techno juice, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Healing, Hurt/Comfort, No beta reader we die like quackity to Techno's pick, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Philza get your kids therapy challenge, Protective Older Brothers, Recovery, SHIPPERS DNI, Trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:08:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27915019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Localcryptid420/pseuds/Localcryptid420
Summary: It had taken Tommy three days to get to the coordinates Phil gave him. He was expecting an empty safe house where he could start re-building his strength. Instead he arrived at a house occupied by someone he thought he would never see again.Or, Tommy takes the choice of his freedom or L'manburg's into his own hands and exiles himself. Eventually he finds himself at Techno's cabin, and the two attempt to mend their broken relationship
Relationships: Dave | Technoblade & Phil Watson, Dave | Technoblade & TommyInnit, TommyInnit & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF)
Series: Brothers [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2039441
Comments: 84
Kudos: 898





	1. And the universe said I love you

**Author's Note:**

> I feel like I have been doing nothing but writing lately, but that's okay because I'm having a lot of fun with this series, and I'm glad so many of you all seem to like it.
> 
> Ty for the kind words and kudos again <3

Tommy gritted his teeth and sidestepped another zombie that lunged at him then buried his sword in it's back. It let out a pained groan before disappearing in a puff of smoke. He took a second to catch his breath and glanced at his snowy surroundings.

He was on his third day of travel. The first day had been the easiest, he had been on his boat the entire day so he didn't get attacked by anything. Unfortunately, he hadn't been able to find a river or anything that he could continue traveling on so he had been forced out of his boat and onto land for the rest of the journey.

That was where things had gotten much more difficult. He had to treck up or around mountains, had to navigate forests, and had to deal with mobs, who had gotten some damage in. The injury's hadn't been to bad, but it was a stark reminder of just how vulnerable he was without his armor that even a simple zombie was a threat. 

He walked out from the pine forest and immediately pulled his jacket a bit tighter around him as the wind picked up, blowing a cross the frozen tundra. He had just woken up and started moving again about an hour ago, and he was already losing feeling in his fingers. 

After blowing into his hands to try and warm them up he pulled up his map, checking his location again, and felt a flicker of relief when he realized how close he was to the coordinates. He should reach it within a few hours. Stashing the map back into his bag he wrapped his arms around his middle and pushed onwards. 

The snow crunched under his boots and he looked around the snow filled environment thinking that if it was under different circumstances he might of found it rather beautiful. Unfortunately, said frozen wasteland was currently attempting to kill him, so he couldn't really be all that impressed. 

He only made it a few more steps before he broke through the top layer of snow and his right leg sunk beneath it up to his knee. He let out a string of curses and slowly wiggled his way out, glaring at the offending white stuff. He was gonna have to have a serious talk with Phil about where he should be placing safe houses. 

Why couldn't he have built it in a plains biome? Or a birch forest? 

He supposed that, technical, a snow biome was the best place to build since no one would be stupid enough to wander around here unless they knew what they where looking for and where exactly to find it, but still. Didn't mean he had to be happy about it. 

Tommy grumbled to himself under his breath as he finally got free and brushed off his pants. He continued much more carefully, keeping a close eye on his footing. He was grateful that there weren't any trees for mobs to hide under at least.

He lost track of time as walked, keeping his eyes on the ground to look for any more deep patches, but eventually he hit a hill and climbed up. He was out breath by the time he reached the top and doubled over, resting his hands on his knees, focusing on getting it back. 

He slowly pushed himself back up into a standing position, feeling incredibly sore, but any discomfort was quickly forgotten at the site that greeted him. Another pine forest stretched out as far as the eye could see and there, sitting next to a pond, nestled among the trees, was a house. 

Tommy sagged in relief and let a wide smile sweep across his face. He had been running low on supplies, and he was pretty sure he had lost all feeling in his face. He carefully made his way down, digging his heels in as best he could, but as soon as he got the bottom he started springing to it. 

He couldn't wait to sleep in a real bed again, and have a proper, warm meal. As he approach the cozy looking cabin he felt his relief slowly fizzled out, turning to apprehension. He slowed down until he was fully stopped, dread flooding through him as he stared at the smoking chimney. 

He warily eyed the window, but didn't see anyone moving around. Unsure of who was inside, he cautiously stepped closer then decided to circle around the back. He kept a close eye on the building as he moved as quietly as he could over the snow. He didn't see any indication that whoever was inside noticed he was here.

He briefly entertained the idea that maybe Phil had somehow gotten ahead of him and was waiting inside, but he couldn't think of a single way the man would have gotten here before him. 

Slowly making his way around the corner, the first thing Tommy noticed was a backdoor. However, his attention quickly shifted to a small, two stall stable. His eyes flickered between the two as he curiously approached the stall nearest to the door, and nearly jumped out of his skin as a horse poked it's head out to stare at him. 

Tommy clutched his chest and tried to get his breathing back under control. That hadn't scared him. It hadn't. He just... hadn't been expecting a horse was all. Said horse continued to stare at him before whinnying. 

Tommy's pulse finally slowed back to normal, before skyrocketing once again at the sound of the doorknob turning and the door swinging open.

Tommy felt like he was watching it open in slow motion, a million possibilities running through his mind in the few seconds it took for the door to be completely opened. For all those possibilities, for every person who could have been on the other side of that door, he was not prepared for it to be Techno. 

Wide blue eyes met a very familiar pair of grey eyes, and both parties froze.

Tommy stared at the man in shock, and Techno stared right back, looking just as surprised to see Tommy as he was to see him. Tommy shivered as the wind picked up again, rustling the pine trees behind him, and that seemed to snap Techno out of it. He looked Tommy up and down before crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the door frame. 

"Well hey there, Theseus." 

He gritted his teeth feeling his temper flare up. Of course the first thing out of his mouth was an insult. 

"How do you even know about that?" Tommy snapped. He lifted one of his shoulders in a lazy half-shrug. "Why else would you be here?" 

Tommy pressed his lips into a thin line with annoyance. He had him there. Techno must have taken his silence for confirmation because he heaved out a sigh. "What do you want, Tommy?" 

"Well I don't want anything from you." 

"Then why are you _here_." 

Tommy dropped his eyes down, suddenly finding the bottom corner of the stairs very interesting. "I thought this was one of Philza's safe houses. He gave me the coordinates." He dug into his back pocket and pulled out the piece of paper. "I didn't know this was your place." 

Techno's eyes flickered between paper and his face. He must have seen the sincerity there because he uncossed his arms, something -Tommy had noticed- he only did when he was feeling defensive, and his shoulders dropped a little. 

"Well, you're here now. So what were you hoping to find at the safe house?" 

Tommy took a half a step back. "Oh I'm not taking anything from you. I don't want anything to do with you!" Techno just rolled his eyes. "Tommy, stop being stubborn." 

Tommy sputtered with indignance. "I'm not being stubborn. I'm just making sure I don't get betrayed again!" Techno narrowed his eyes at that, his voice raising. "You betrayed me first!" 

"I trusted you!" Tommy yelled, the sound echoing through the empty woods. Silence fell yet again as the two glared at each other. This was exactly why he hadn't wanted to see Techno, he knew it would just turn into a screaming match. 

He and Techno were practically polar opposite, except for one thing. They both were incredibly stubborn. Normal Wilbur was the medium between the two, smoothing down ruffled feathers and being the voice of reason in heated arguments, but well.... 

Tommy scrubbed his hand down his face suddenly feeling tired for a different reason. He glanced at the forest behind him then back at Techno. "Fuck this." He muttered as turned to head off into the woods. 

Phil would probably come by to check up on him, and when he did Tommy could get him to take him to a real safe house. He just had to stick it out until he did, and there was no way he was staying in a house with Techno for however long that was going to be. 

"You're going to freeze to death." Techno called after him in his usual monotone voice. Tommy just flipped him the bird and kept walking. 

Branches snapped under his boots as he pushed deeper into the woods. He just needed to find a cave so he would be sheltered from the elements and wait for Phil to show up. He just needed to focus on putting one foot in front of the other. Tommy pushed on, telling himself that the stinging in his eyes and the tightness of his throat was from the cold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry I promise I'm gonna have some fluff for y'all next chapter, but these boys have got Issues so I couldn't just have them completely forgive each other right off the bat, but don't worry we're getting there.


	2. And the universe said you have played the game well

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me, jumping between minecraft rules and real life rules based on how I can fit them into the fic/how much I like them: PARKOUR!

Tommy wasn't sure how long he walked, pushing branches back and keeping an eye on his footing, but eventually he stopped to look at his surroundings. The first thing he needed to do was find a place to stay, someplace that would shelter him from the bitter cold already starting to seep through his coat. 

A quick glance around only showed trees as far as the eye could see. While making a tree shelter was doable, he would prefer a cave. Unfortunately, since he was in a forest the only things he was able to see were trees, trees, and more trees, it was looking like a tree shelter was it. Tommy let out an annoyed groan. It was going to be such a pain to build one. 

Not seeing any other options he resigned himself to the task. Pulling his worn axe out if his backpack he started walking to try and find a small enough tree to chop down, but stopped and backtracked as he spotted something out of the corner of his eye. 

It looked like a small mound. He squinted at it before grabbing his backpack again and walking to it. He circled around the outside and found a crack just barely big enough for him to squeeze through. Pulling out a torch Tommy carefully made his way inside and looked around. 

Well, it was certainly no cave. Just a small, hollowed out hill. It was about five blocks wide and seven blocks deep. Tommy ran his finger over the walls with consideration. It would shelter him from the elements, mobs wouldn't be able to get in, and it was far enough away from Techno's house to feel like he had his privacy, but not far enough away to be impossible for Phil to find. 

And the best part? He didn't have to build it. Looks like he had found his temporary shelter. His mind made up Tommy placed his torch on the wall, went outside to grab his pack, and came back in to spread it's contents on the floor. 

He separated what was in the pack into three piles. Food, tools, and blocks. He winced slightly at the low amount of food. It should last him a couple more days, but he was going to have to figure something out. 

His tools weren't in bad shape. His axe was the most used thing, and it would probably hang in there for another week or so. His sword, like his axe, had seen better days, but it wasn't anywhere close to breaking. He hadn't touched his pickaxe so it was still in mint condition. 

As for blocks, he didn't have a lot of variety. He had a full stack of dirt blocks, and about half a stack of cobble. 

Staring down at his meager supplies Tommy started mentally laying out his plan. First thing first he was going to need some wood, then he should make a furnace, and finally, if he had time, find some animals he could round up and place in a fence for food down the line. 

Feeling much more clear-headed now that he had a clear set of goals, Tommy grabbed his axe, slung his now empty pack over his shoulder, and stepped outside. A frown tugged at his lips as he stared up at the sky. The sun was already so low. He would have time to get wood, and maybe make the furnace, but it probably wouldn't be a good idea to go out looking for animals. 

Resting the axe on his shoulder Tommy went out to find a smaller tree to chop down so it wouldn't take to long.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tommy wiped the sweat off his forehead and cast an uneasy look up to the sky. It had taken him longer then he thought it would to bring the tree down. Even a small one. He was so use to his netherite tools, it was jarring to have to go back to stone.

He swung his axe into the fallen tree and finally managed to break off enough wood for a crafting table. Stuffing both his axe and the wood into his pack he quickly stood back up and started racing back to his base. 

Despite the physical labor he had just done, and the fact that he was running, Tommy could feel himself shivering from the cold. He cupped his hands together and blew into them. He was definitely going to need a furnace to get through the night. 

Lucky, the tree hadn't been to far away and he made it back just as the sun began to set. He took a moment to catch his breath before squeezing back through the crevice, the light of a single torch being the only thing illuminating the small space. 

Dropping the pack on the floor he dug around in it with shaky hands until he pulled out the wood he needed. Tommy moved into the corner he wanted and placed the crafting table, then grabbed the cobble and placed the furnace right next to it. 

Letting out a sigh of relief he went to grab some wood to place in the furnace, only to stop short of his pack and then dig the heels of his palms into his eyes. 

He had been so worried about getting back on time that he had forgotten to grab extra wood. 

Tommy sat there a moment, rubbing his eyes and totally not panicking, before he dropped his hands and stared at the entrance to his base. It didn't look like the sun was completely set yet. Maybe he could run back to the tree and chop off a few branches? 

He was hesitant at the thought of having to run around a freezing, mob filled environment, and wondered if he really needed the furnace that bad before a strong wind blew in from the entrance and made him start shivering even harder. Not seeing any other options Tommy reluctantly got back to his feet, axe in hand and pack slung over his shoulder once again. 

Rubbing his hands together Tommy told himself it was going to be easy. Just, run over, hack off an arm full of branches, and run back. Easy. 

He rolled his shoulder then started squeezing out, already trying to calculate how much time he had left based on how low the sun was dipping beneath the horizon, only to freeze in his tracks at an inconspicuous looking chest that definitely hadn't been there before. 

Tommy eyed it suspiciously, knowing exactly who had placed it there, before letting his eyes sweep around the surrounding woods. He didn't see anything out of place, looking back at the chest he didn't even see any footprints around the thing. 

His fingers twitched as he stared at it, his curiosity overriding everything else, and he decided a quick peek wouldn't hurt. Slowly inching closer he used his axe to lift the top of it and looked inside. His eyes widened and he opened the chest all the way. 

It was coal. Not a lot, about half a stack, but it would be enough to get him through the night and then some. 

Tommy immediately took a few steps before looking to the almost disappeared sun, torn between wariness and common sense. Wariness told him to not take anything from Techno because he might try to use it as an excuse that Tommy owed him, but common sense pointed out that there was no way he was getting to the tree and back in time, and to just take the damn coal. 

His eyes flickered between the box and the sinking sun, not sure what to do. ' _Why don't you take the coal, but leave something in return?'_ A voice that sounded suspiciously like Wilbur seemed to whisper.

Tommy looked back towards his base. He didn't really have anything to exchange for it. He needed his food, he needed his tools, so that only left the blo- 

A wide grin swept across his face as he went back inside, grabbed half a stack of dirt, and then came back. He took the coal out and replaced it with the dirt. There, he had exchanged the coal for dirt. Now Techno wouldn't be able to hold it over him. 

Feeling oddly secure Tommy went back into his base and didn't hesitate to throw the coal into the furnace then lit it with the torch. Warmth immediately began to flow into the space and Tommy huddled closer to it, stretching out his hands. 

Feeling his eyelids beginning to droop, Tommy pulled his pack over to use as a pillow and laid out in front of the furnace. He put a few more pieces in to make sure that the fire would last until morning, then stared at the dancing flames until he fell asleep. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_"I still can't believe how perfect that timing was!" Tommy said happily, limping after Techno. Sapnap had gotten him in the leg with an arrow, but the adrenaline from the battle still hadn't worn off so it didn't hurt to bad. Techno, unsurprisingly, just grunted in acknowledgement and kept walking._

_Tommy wasn't disheartened by his lack of response, he could tell by Techno was just wary of being attacked again based on the tenseness of his shoulders and the way he kept looking around._

_The two walked in silence for a moment. "Seriously big man, you don't have to worry about them coming back after the beating we gave them." Techno looked back at him and Tommy could see a small smile tugging at his lips. "The beating_ we _gave them?"_

_Tommy puffed out his chest. "That's right. I was there. I helped." Techno's grin grew wider and he shook his head before looking forward again. Tommy was about to ask him what that meant before he tripped on a root, sending sharp pain shooting through his leg._

_"Fuck!" He spat out and doubled over, gripping his injured limb. Black spots danced in the corners of his eyes as he leaned against the nearest tree, closed his eyes, and just focused on breathing for a minute. After a moment the pain died down a little, but it definitely hurt worse than it had before._

_He opened them again to see Techno hovering close, one hand outstretched towards him and other still held the axe tightly. "Can you still walk?" He asked._

_Tommy slowly pushed himself back into a standing position and had to bite his lip as he tried standing on his injured leg. It hurt, badly. "Yeah. Yeah I can still walk on it." Tommy lied._

_Techno looked doubtful, but backed up with a nod and started heading in the direction of Pogtopia. Tommy let out a shaky breath and trailed after him, wincing every time he had to place weight on his leg. He tried to make it a bit easier, using tree trunks and branches as often as possible, but unfortunately that made him a lot slower._

_Not really paying attention to his surrounding, he bumped into Techno's back and startled slightly before realizing who it was and relaxed again. He wasn't real sure what Techno was doing, he was just staring up at the sky. Tommy looked up and felt his stomach sink when he realized just how late it was._

_They probably wouldn't be able to make it back before sundown._

_"Just leave me here." Tommy said, "You can run back, grab a healing potion, and then come back to give it to me."_

_Techno turned to stare at him, looked back in the direction of Pogtopia, and then looked back at him. Heaving out a sigh Techno turned so his back was to Tommy and crouched slightly. "Hop on."_

_Tommy stared at him in shock. He was joking right? "I'm not letting you give me a piggyback ride."_

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_Techno tossed a glare over his shoulder at him. "Look, I'm not leaving you here to get attacked by mobs, or someone else you've pissed off, or to pass out from blood loss." Tommy's eyebrows twitched at that last one. He glanced down at his wound and paled._

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_Techno had already taken the arrow out and wrapped the injury, but the once white bandage was almost completely soaked through with blood._

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_"Yeah," Techno huffed out, "So either you can retain some dignity and hop on my back, or I can throw you over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes."_

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_Tommy pressed his lips together in annoyance and thought about his options before reluctantly limping over. "This is so humiliating." He muttered as he clambered onto his back. Techno either didn't hear him or didn't care enough to respond because he didn't say anything back._

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_Once Tommy was on he stood up to his full height and tested his weight. After some slight adjustments Techno tighten the grip on his axe and broke out into a jog,_

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_As the world rushed past Tommy tighten his grip and relaxed a little. So maybe this wasn't so bad, his leg didn't hurt so much anymore. Plus how many people could say that they got a piggyback ride from the big, bad Blade?_

_______ _ _ _

_Feeling a mischievous smile cross his face at that thought, Tommy pulled himself up a little. "You know what? This isn't that bad actually, and I can't wait to tell a certain someone about how Techno 'Blood for the blood God' Blade gave_ me _a piggyback ride."_

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_He couldn't see Techno's face face, but he heard the man let out a huff of amusement. "Tommy, you can tell whoever you like, it doesn't matter." He turned his head and Tommy saw a wide grin on his face. "No one is going to believe you."_

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_The smile on Tommy's face dropped instantly._

 _Surely, surely Tubbo would believe him. Right? But the more he thought about it, the more unsure he became. He may have... exaggerated some stories about Techno in the past, but he would believe this one. Wouldn't he? It only took him a few seconds of thinking it over to come to the conclusion that Tubbo probably wouldn't believe him._

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_"Aw man." Tommy whined as he slumped over, and Techno's laughter rang through the forest as he carried them home._

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tommy's eyes slid open slowly and he stared at the wall. He gave himself a moment before pushing himself up into a sitting position. He remembered that day perfectly. The adrenaline of the fight, the thrill of seeing the fear in the others eyes as Techno had shown up, and getting to tell Wilbur all about it. 

It all felt so long ago. 

So long. 

Tommy rubbed the back of his neck with a sigh before standing up and stretching. He had a lot to do today, and not a lot of daylight to do it with. This wasn't the time to miss things that were never coming back. 

After eating a quick breakfast of stale bread Tommy warmed his hands on the few lingering embers before grabbing his pack and heading out. 

He eyed the chest as he emerged from the entrance, a little surprised to still see it there. Figuring it couldn't hurt he popped open the top again, and blinked in surprise to find that the dirt was gone. In its place was a wooden shovel. 

He stared down at it for a few seconds before a smile slowly stretched across his face, then he started laughing. He wasn't sure why he found it so funny. It was just, such Techno's unique brand of pettyness. Tommy had placed dirt in the chest so he had given him something that was only good for mining dirt. 

Eventually he calmed down and went back into his base to grab some cobble and placed it in before grabbing the shovel. He still had a wide grin in place as he tosses it into his pack, then turned to go get some more wood, suddenly feeling much lighter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See! I told y'all the fluff was coming.
> 
> Unfortunately, I'm going to be slowing down the rate I'm uploading. I love writing this fic, and I love seeing your guys reaction to it, but I'm scared of burning myself out and losing motivation to keep writing. So, I'm going to try and limit myself to updates about once a week.
> 
> I'm probably going to fail miserably since hyperfixation go brrrrrrrrr, but if the next chapter takes a bit longer to come out you all know why.


	3. And the universe said everything you need is within you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter isn't very exciting, but I wanted some more light-hearted stuff before we got back into the angst.

Tommy mentally cursed out whatever higher power had decided to have him go to the most uninhabited piece of land on the planet. It had only been a couple of days, but he already hated this place with a passion. He was on his second of hour of looking for some chickens, and was about ready to call it quits. 

He had eaten the last of his bread that morning, and he really only had one option for food now. He couldn't grow any crops because of the cold, and even if he managed to find an animal in this place he wouldn't be able to take care of it. Luckily, there were a bunch of rabbits in the forest. 

So he needed to find chickens so he could get the feathers to make arrows, and be able to hunt the abundance of rabbits hopping around his base. He had already whittled down some sticks to make the shafts, and flint would be easy to find. He even had made the bow already. 

He had carved the base out from a sturdy looking branch, and had killed the spider for the silk himself, determined to make it on his own. 

Which meant the only thing left were the feathers, but he had been searching around for about an hour and could not, for the life of him, find a single chicken. Eventually he had just picked a direction and started walking, trying to see if maybe there were some further out. 

He had stumble across some berries bushes on the way, but the berries hadn't been ripe so he left them. 

He had only been walking for a few minutes before he started feeling eyes on him, and he swore he saw the swirl of a red cape disappear behind some trees. Tommy had tried to ignore it at first, but after walking for over an hour he was tired and starving, which meant his control over his temper was practically non-existent, and after catching a glimpse of Techno out of the corner of his eye, it snapped. 

"I don't need a babysitter!" He spat out over his shoulder. The wind rustling through the pine branches was the only response. He had no idea why Techno was following him. Maybe he thought Tommy was trying to run away? _'Yeah, great idea,'_ he thought to himself, ' _Run away and leave all my shit behind.'_

Grumbling under his breath Tommy kicked a pebble out of his way before looking around again. The woods around him were growing less and less dense which, hopefully, meant that he was going to be out of them soon. 

Rubbing his hands together he kept walking, snapping the occasional branch so he would be able to find his way back. 

It didn't take him much longer to clear the woods. He stepped into a snow cover plain and immediately swept the area hopefully, but he didn't see anything moving. Tommy glanced uneasily over his shoulder towards the forest he had just come out of, feeling oddly exposed without the shelter of the tree around him. 

He had two options here. Either he could turn back now and try again tomorrow, or he could keep going for a bit longer and see if his luck changed. After debating back and forth for a moment, he began to hesitantly walk forwards again. He would just travel for another half an hour. If he didn't find anything, then he would turn back. 

About twenty minutes of walking later had him growing more sullen as a severe lack of chickens, or anything really, showed up. Tommy let out a huff of annoyance. He was about to head back, but stopped in his tracks and stared up at the sky. Hope blooming in his chest at the sight of smoke rising in the distance.

A village. 

A village that would have things like food and feathers. He had never been more grateful to have brought his sticks along in his life. 

The thought of getting some food in his belly was enough to get him racing to where it was coming from. It wasn't to long before the village appeared on the horizon. From what he could make out it was a rather large one with a very small cluster of trees behind it. 

After what felt like a small eternity he finally found himself on the boarder of the town, a few villagers eyed him warily as he approached, but he brushed past all of them with out stopping. 

He needed to find a fletcher, trade his sticks for emeralds, and then he would be able to trade the emeralds for feathers. He might even be able to grab some bread if he had enough emeralds left over. Slowing down a bit, Tommy carefully scanned the buildings, and let a happy smile sweep over his face when he found the symbol for fletcher. 

Entering the shop revealed a cozy looking interior, and a stone fireplace placed against the back wall with a lively fire crackling from inside. Tommy walked up to the villager with a nod and pulled out the sticks, placing them on the counter between them. 

The fletcher started inspecting them with a careful eye, humming occasionally. Tommy rocked back on his heels, trying to not show his impatience. His stomach was rolling with hunger, letting him know that the few pieces of stale bread and single mushroom he had for breakfast weren't enough to satisfy it, especially with how much energy he had burned since then. 

Finally, after what felt like hours, they were done. They had placed about thirty of the sticks into a pile and gestured to it, saying something in their language. Tommy only understood a little of the villager speak, Phil had taught him some, but he knew enough to understand that the fletcher only wanted half. 

With a nod Tommy put the rest back in his bag while he waited for the villager to grab the emeralds out from their chest, and happily pocketed the two that they slid across the counter to him. "Do you have feathers to trade?" He asked. 

The villager tilted their head in thought before slowly shaking it no. Tommy immediately felt his good mood plummet. "Is there anyone here who would sell them?" He asked desperately. They shook their head again before stopping and shaking their hand so-so. "Blacksmith." They hummed out. 

"The blacksmith sells feathers?" 

"Blacksmith sells arrows." 

Tommy felt a frown tug at his lips as he thought about it. It would be more expensive to buy arrows, much more expensive, but Phil had taught him some tips and tricks on how to get these guys to lower their prices. Also, he would be able to hunt on his way back, which increased his chances of getting something. 

His mind made up Tommy slung his bag over his shoulder with a grateful nod. "So, is the blacksmith the one on the edge of town?" 

The villager looked at him almost sympathetically. "Blacksmith gone......back......three." 

Tommy only understood every other word, but it was enough to make his spirit drop. He still tried to cling on the the last bits of hope he had left. "He'll be back in three hours?" 

They shook their head solemnly. "Three days." 

Tommy stared at the fletcher in disbelief, his shoulders dropping. They couldn't be serious. The blacksmith wouldn't be back for another _three days_? Tommy let out a groan and scrubbed his hands down his face. 

The painful cramps in his stomach told him he might not have the energy to walk back by then. He had already been living on scraps for the past few days. Even before his exile he hadn't been eating much, he hadn't been able to keep much down, and unfortunately his ribs were beginning to poke out. They weren't prominent enough to be terribly concerning, but he knew he needed to start eating more consistently or it was going to turn into a problem. 

Letting out a deep breath Tommy tried very, very hard to not snap at the fletcher, since all it would do is just make them increase their prices. It was just frustrating because all he lacked were the materials to just make the arrows himself. He had the know-how, Techno had taught him an- 

Tommy immediately froze at the thought before slowly slumping over and rested his face in his hands, letting out something halfway between a hysterical laugh and an annoyed groan. Of course. If anyone would have a surplus of feathers in this kind of environment would be _him_. 

He rested his chin in the palm of his hand and weighed his options. Either he could go back to his base, scrape by for the next three days, and then make the trek all the way back, or he could get some flint from the fletcher with an emerald, go back to his base, and trade his other emerald to Techno for some feathers. 

While both options were not preferable, one of them was clearly better than the other. 

Letting his shoulders slump in defeat, Tommy asked how much flint he could get for an emerald, and after grabbing what they gave him, he hoisted his bag over his shoulder and started back to his base. 

The walk back somehow felt much longer, and he kept glancing at the sky nervously. Tommy hadn't noticed how much time he had spent in the town until he had stepped out of the fletchers shop and realized how low the sun was. It looked like he still had a couple of hours until it would go completely dark, but it was going to take about an hour and a half to get back. 

By the time he reached the edge of the woods he gave himself a second to rest on a fallen log, feeling far to shaky for his liking, and looked around. "I need feathers." He called out, "And I'm not asking for freebies! I can trade you an emerald for them." 

He waited to hear anything in return, a grunt of acknowledgement, a few branches breaking, anything, but the woods were deathly quiet. Tommy squirmed, feeling a bit silly for yelling into the empty forest. 

Maybe Techno had stopped following him a while ago, or maybe he had never been following Tommy in the first place. Maybe he was just going crazy. "Runs in the family." He muttered bitterly under his breath before standing up again and slowly walking the rest of the way back. 

By the time he reached his destination Tommy wanted nothing more than to curl up in front of his furnace and sleep, but he had things to do. He had to leave the emerald for feathers, and write a note in the snow in front of the chest in case Techno hadn't heard him, and he had to try to find something to eat. Even if it was just more mushrooms, better than nothing. 

He squinted up at the sky and guessed he had less then an hour of sunlight left. Hopefully he would be able to find something. Running his fingers through his hair he took a deep breath before opening the chest to drop the emerald in, and stopped short at the sight of a stack of feathers waiting for him. 

He had no idea how the hell Techno moved so fast, or so quietly, but the prospect of getting to eat a proper meal for the first time in days had him not questioning it to much. He reached in and paused for about a half a second to wonder if an emerald for a stack of feathers was a fair trade, before deciding he didn't give a shit and swapping them. 

He immediately pulled out the flint and the few leftover sticks he had, and hastily made five arrows, not having time to make more, then stood up and ran over to a small mound where he had seen some of the rabbits disappear into earlier. 

Tommy kept glancing between the setting sun and the rabbit burrow, trying to stay patience. Finally one hopped out. It rubbed at it's face and stood back on its hind legs, looking around. Tommy silently notched the arrow and drew it back. He took a deep breath, held it, then let his arrow fly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It felt really weird to not immediately start writing this chapter after a I posted the last one, but I did feel much less pushed for time while writing it out so I think I'm going to be sticking to this schedule.
> 
> Also sorry for the lack of Techno this chapter, he'll be much more prominent in the next one.
> 
> I'll read through this after I wake up so don't mind the spelling errors.


	4. And the universe said you are stronger than you know

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart. This fic has already gotten so much bigger then I thought it would. You guys have no idea how much your support means to me. Seriously, thank you all so much ;-;
> 
> Also tw for panic attack towards the end of the chapter, let me know if y'all want me to put a warning in the actual chapter or if this is fine.
> 
> As usual I'm uploading this right before I sleep so I'll check spelling errors later.

Tommy brought his pickaxe down on the hard stone a few times in rapid succession before leaning back and wiping a bit of sweat off his brow. Since he had the food situation sorted, he figured he should start working on getting better equipment. 

Easier said then done. He had forgotten how frustrating mining was with a stone pick. The damn thing only lasted a few hours at best, and Tommy swore he had the worst luck because he hadn't found a single piece of iron in the three days he had been trying. 

As if to prove his point and mock him simultaneously, the next time he brought the pick down it shattered. Tommy let out a frustrated scream and threw the handle against the wall then stood there glaring at it, only feeling marginally better. This would be so much easier if he had an iron pick. It would last a few days at least, and it would take much less effort to break through stone. 

The problem was, he couldn't make an iron pick without iron, and at the rate he was going there was a good chance that he wouldn't be able to find some until next week. Pushing his face in his hands he let out a loud, annoyed groan before dragging his fingers up through his hair. 

You know what? This was a problem for future Tommy. Present Tommy was going to get lunch. With that decided he swiped the handle up from the floor and walked up to the surface. He snagged his bow and quiver then headed out, only to stop and stare at the chest quizzically. 

It had snowed last night and left a thin layer over everything, but there wasn't any snow on the top of the chest. Which meant it had been opened recently. He walked over to check what was inside, and felt his eyes widen at the iron pick sitting there. His mind was already racing with what he could trade for it before he paused. 

He knew where a village was, and he had been meaning to head back there to see if he could get more arrows. Plus it would be nice to get out after losing his mind trying to find iron. Perfect, he could get some more arrows, get some emeralds for the pick, and would, hopeful, stop feeling like he wanted to pull his hair out. He stood up, went inside, grabbed some things he could trade, then headed out with a grin. 

The wind was strong today, but Tommy just pulled his coat tighter and found that the smile wouldn't leave his face. After about an hour of walk he could see the treeline and upped his pace, only to freeze as an uneasy feeling creeped up his spine. 

His eyes flickered around as he knocked an arrow, but he didn't see anything. Still the feeling persist so he didn't move, instead he raised his bow slightly and kept sweeping his eyes over the area. For a while nothing happened, but after a few minutes Tommy's eyes snapped forward and he felt dread fill his bones as he saw a figure with a long green cloak approaching him. 

Tommy raised his bow fully and trained it on Dream. The masked man walked up to the edge of the woods and stopped there, wordlessly staring him down. 

Tension think enough to cut rose in the air around them as he waited to see what Dream had to say. The wind picked up, he heard a few wolves hollowing in the distance, and then finally Dream spoke. 

"Took me longer to find you then I thought it would. You certainly move fast." Tommy didn't know how to respond to that so he just kept his guard up and stayed quiet. Dream didn't seem at all perturbed, absence mindedly swinging his axe back and forth as he continued. "Funny, how you seemed to know exactly where to find Technoblade. Did Phil tell you?" 

He kept his mouth shut, refusing to give him anything. Unfortunately, Dream seemed to take his silence as confirmation because he let out a soft chuckle that made Tommy's skin crawl. "Of course he told you. I'd be more surprised if he hadn't." 

"What do you want." Tommy spat out, trying to sound far braver then he felt. Dream tilted his head as if lost in thought. "Hmmmm. What do I want? Well, a lot of things, but that's not important. What's important is what _you_ can help me with." 

"Like I would help you with anything." Tommy scoffed, "You're the reason I'm out here to begin with." 

"Am I? You know Tommy, I couldn't help but notice how quickly your 'friends' threw you under the bus, so to speak. Sure I may have suggested exile, but none of them really tried to stop it." 

Tommy gritted his teeth, feeling his temper flare. "You didn't 'suggest' exlie asshole, you demanded it." 

"But you're not denying that they didn't stand up for you." Dream stated calmly. Tommy snapped his mouth shut and glared, trying to figure out what Dream was trying to do. 

"That doesn't seem like something a good friend would do. I think friends should stick up for each other." As he spoke Dream took a few steps forward, and Tommy backed up until he hit a tree, suddenly very aware of his lack of armor. "Relax, I'm not here to hurt you. In fact, I'm here to offer you a proposition." 

He took another step closer before suddenly stopping then turned to the left. "You have something you'd like to add? Or are you just here to keep an eye on things?" He called out to woods. 

Tommy saw movement out of the corner of his eye and even though he new exactly who it was he still stole a quick glance, only to freeze and feel a pit form in his stomach as Techno came into view. 

No, not Techno. This wasn't the man who kept his hair up in a messy bun because it was the fastest way to get it out of his face, or who wore glasses on the bridge of his nose, or who spent hours organizing their chests in pogtopia because it annoyed him. 

This was Technoblade. Harbinger of the blood god. 

A jagged bone crown sat on top of his head with a dull blue gem in the center. The pig skull was firmly in place blocking the top half of his face, but leaving the lower half exposed, showing off the two tusks protruding from his mouth. The right side of his hair was down and flowing freely, save for a few loose braids here and there, while the left side was pulled back into three intricate braids revealing a pointed ear with two black piercings. 

He was wearing his usual long red cape, his trident strapped to his back, and his enchanted netherite armor and axe gleamed brightly under the canopy of trees. An array of potions sat on his belt and Tommy swore he saw a few particles effects coming off of him, like he had already drank some. 

Tommy took one look at him and knew he wasn't just here to keep an eye on things. He was prepared to fight. 

Techno's eyes briefly flickered over to Tommy before locking back on Dream, and stayed there as he slowly walked up to him. Tommy immediately grew uneasy, worried he was about to be caught up in the eye of a massive storm. Techno stopped mere inches from Dream, and pulled himself up to his full hight as he glared down at him. 

"Leave." 

The single word rang out like a gunshot, despite Techno not raising his voice. 

Dream tilted his head and flexed his grip on the axe. 

They both stood there for a moment before Dream let out a humorless chuckle and slowly back up until he was outside of the woods again. Tommy felt the air rush out of his lungs as he let out a breath he hadn't even realized he had been holding. 

"Looks like my offers going to half to wait for another time, but don't worry I'll be waiting right here when you wanna hear it." Dream said, turning to stare in his direction. Techno silently moved so he was blocking Dream's view, placing himself between him and Tommy. 

Tommy felt a bit safer, not realizing how tense he had been with Dream's eyes on him, only to freeze again as he heard Dream speak up. "You know, old friend, you can't be the best forever." Tommy felt a shiver work it's way down his spine. Dream sounded... different. Almost warbled. Like multiple people were speaking at once. He had never heard him sound like that before.

He sat there with his bow still drawn, only sagging in relief as the crunch of boots on snow moved farther and farther away, until it was silent again. 

He kept his bow aimed at Techno's back before reluctantly lowering it. It wasn't like it would be able to do any damage to him anyways. Techno turned to look at him and Tommy immediately sucked in a sharp breath as he swore the man's eyes were red and he could hear the sound of withers spawning, only to realize it was just the wind whistling through the trees, and Techno's eyes were normal. 

A few seconds of silence passed. "You need to stay in the forest." Tommy's eyes flickered over to Techno, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "I have a deal with Dream. I leave him alone, he leaves me alone. The boarder of my land stops at the treeline. As long as you stay in it, he won't be able to reach you." 

Tommy stared at him, a million different responses running through his head, but in the end he just silently nodded, to shaken to do anything else. That was when it really hit him. Dream had followed him here. Dream knew that Phil had told him how to get here. Feeling panic bubble up in his chest he was about to say something, but it would seem Techno was already one step ahead. 

"Don't worry, I'll send a letter to Phil. He's smart. He'll be okay." Techno said. Tommy nodded jerkily and there was some more silence before he motioned back towards his base. "I'll um, I'll just be going then." And stumbled off, telling himself that he was fine. Techno's eyes were gray, not red. There were no withers here. He was fine. 

Despite telling himself that he only felt somewhat safe after he squeezed back into his temporary home, and climbed down to his mineshaft. 

Tommy worked until his hands stopped shaking and the urge to look over his shoulder every five minutes faded away. He lost himself in the rhythmic process of hammering the pickaxe, as he slowly but surely descend deeper. He tried to keep his focus on the manual labor, but inevitably his mind wandered. 

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It was almost funny, how quickly your feelings towards someone could change. For the longest time Techno and safe had practically been synonyms in his mind. It hadn't always been that way of course. Back when he had only known the name Technoblade in passing. Back when he had been establishing business bay, and death had been nothing more than a temporary annoyance. 

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It all felt like a life time ago. He still remembered the first time he had actually interacted with Techno. The man killing him over and over again, but there had never been any true malice behind it. And when it had all been over and done Techno had tossed him a diamond sword, telling him to keep practicing. 

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Soon enough both he and Phil started visiting business bay more frequently. Phil would usually wander off to see if Wilbur needed anything, but Techno would hang around. He showed Tommy the most efficient way make arrows, and what type of enchantments to put on his gear. Occasionally they would even spar. It always ended with Tommy respawning, but he didn't mind. The first time he had managed to get in a decent amount of damage before going down Techno had been waiting for him with a proud grin, and told him he was getting better. 

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Sometimes Wilbur would be in the bay with him, and they would all just hang out together. With Wilbur pestering Techno to let him braid his hair, or pushing him to spar with wooden swords, while Phil would show Tommy how to get the best deal with villagers, or they would all just sit around a campfire and listen to Wilbur play his guitar. Tommy liked those days the best. They almost felt like a family. 

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Then, one day, Wilbur decided that he wanted to leave and start a new life somewhere else. He had asked them all to come along, but Techno and Phil had declined, both of them perfectly content with the empire they had built. 

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However, before they left Phil had pulled Wilbur off the side to speak to him, and while they were talking Techno asked to look at Tommy's sword. He had looked it over thoughtfully before nodding in approval and handed it back, telling him that he had done a good job with enchanting it before quietly adding on that if Tommy needed help, to let him know. 

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That comment had always sat in the back of Tommy's mind, but he had never acted on it. He had never felt the need to ask for help because he thought that they would be fine. After all, it was all just fun and games. Wasn't it? 

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That idea had been firmly shaken after Eret's betrayal. After the final control room. When Tommy had respawn clutching his chest feeling terribly wrong, like a piece of himself was missing. At first he had just brushed it off as the sting of having been betrayed, but after his duel with Dream it had happened again. 

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Eventually he had asked Tubbo about it, and his friend told him that he felt the same thing after getting killed in the control room as well. He had confronted Dream about it, and the man admitted that this place wasn't like any other. They only had a set number of deaths here, and once they were out, that was the end of it. 

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Even then he hadn't felt the need to involve Techno, because they were free and there weren't going to be anymore wars so it was fine. Then the election had happened, and Schlatt kicked them out, and he and Wilbur had run for their lives only to both be cut down. 

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Tommy hadn't told anyone, but he had cried with relief when he woke up in his bed. He had been terrified that his last life had been taken, and had never been more grateful to respawn before. 

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It was only after all that, after Schlatt, and being exiled, and realizing how vastly outnumbered they were, did Tommy send a letter asking for help. He honestly had been expecting Techno to tell him that he was to busy, and was considering who else he could ask when he got a letter back. It only held coordinates and a single sentence saying, _'I'll be there in three days'_. 

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With Techno at their side Tommy had been so sure that they would win. Wilbur hadn't quite been as on board, questioning if he was really here to help them, or if Schlatt had called him in for a favor. In hindsight that should have been the first sign of Wilbur's declining mental state, but Tommy had been so excited to hang out with Techno again he had just brushed the accusation off. 

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Over the next six months Techno helped them build up their crops, farmed for better materials, and went with Tommy anytime he went near L'manburg. And if there had been any lingering doubts from Wilbur's comment, they had been snuffed out when Techno had immediately suggested 'advanced interrogation technics' after learning that badboyhalo had his disc, even though he had no idea who that was, or why the discs where so important to Tommy. 

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Each time something had gone wrong and Techno had stood by him, it only seemed to strengthen their odd little family. Tommy was just grateful he had never called Techno his brother out loud, because he knew he would have never lived it down. He had accidentally slipped up once and called Wilbur his brother, and had gotten teased relentlessly for it, even though a wide smile had been plastered onto Wil's face for the rest of the day. 

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Regardless, in the end he firmly believed that Techno would always look after them, would always protect them, and that was something he wouldn't have to worry about changing. 

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That view of Techno had been fractured after the festival. 

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All things considered, Tommy could have forgiven him for killing Tubbo. If not for the way Tubbo had been gripping his chest, looking far to pale, his eyes glassy and unfocused. Tommy had taken one look at him and knew he was down to his last life. 

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Even then, even then he could have tried to forgive him, but it was the way Techno had been so cold and uncaring about it all. He had just brushed Tommy off. Which lead to the pit, and his inevitable loss, and Techno telling him they were done talking about it. 

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Despite him trying to hold onto that anger, by the time the battle had rolled around he had started somewhat mend his relationship with Techno, only for it to be shattered completely when he spawned the withers. 

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He could still hear the hideous screeches they let out as Techno stared him down, once grey eyes turned a chilling blood red, screaming that if Tommy wanted to be a hero so badly then he could DIE LIKE ONE- 

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Tommy's back slammed into the wall and he took a few quick, panicky breaths feeling like his throat was closing up and his chest was being constricted. He closed his eyes and started breathing deeply through his nose and exhaling through his mouth, focusing on the feeling of the rough stone beneath his hands and the sound of water running somewhere below him. 

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Safe, he was safe. There were no withers here. They were dead now. They couldn't hurt him anymore. Tommy mentally repeated that to himself until his heart rate slowed and he felt like he could breath again. 

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Letting out a very shaky breath he pulled his knees up to his chest and scrubbed at his eyes angrily. He didn't have time for this. He had a lot of things he needed to get done. Dispite that thought he continued to sit there, feeling to drained to even think about them. He just wanted to sleep. 

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Tommy pushed himself up until he was standing, and slowly climbed up the makeshift stairs feeling like his feet were made of lead. He was only a little surprised at the lack of sunlight coming from the entrance. He figured he had been mining for a while based on how sore his arms were. 

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He stared at his bow feeling oddly hollow. He knew he should probably go get something to eat since he only had half of a rabbit for breakfast, but the thought of having to go back outside was to daunting of a task to consider. Instead he just put some coal in the furnace, pulled his jacket up over his shoulder as a makeshift blanket, and stared blankly at the wall until his exhaustion pulled him under.

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If they won't continue the dreamon storyline THEN I WILL DO IT!
> 
> Credit for the technoblade design goes to the wonderful noxachi on tumblr! Please, please stop by, give them some reblogs, and tell them how wonderful their art is!!!!
> 
> Also I totally didn't go back and change Techno's eye color in the first chapter because I got it wrong, so don't ask.


	5. And the universe said you are the daylight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am once again ignoring cannon as I continue to write my silly little au. Pog through the pain everyone 😔

_The knee-length grass gently swayed in the breeze and Tommy blinked a few times as he tried to get his bearings. He was standing in a field, but he couldn't remember what he was doing there. He frowned in confusion and slowly spun in a circle. There was nothing but wide open prairie as far as the eye could see. He kept looking until he spotted a hill with a tree directly behind him, and started walking towards it slowly, almost feeling like he was in a trance. As he got closer to it he realized he could hear music coming from that direction._

_It sounded like someone was playing the guitar._

_It felt like he reached the hill both entirely to fast, and entirely to slow. His sense of time was non-existent, and while there was a part of him pointing out how that was probably a bad thing, the rest of him didn't really care. Especially as he climbed up the hill with the music floating in the air around him. Music that simultaneously sounded completely foreign, and hauntingly familiar._

_He reached the top and immediately felt like someone had just punched him in the gut when a familiar blue jacket came into view, it's owner holding a worn looking guitar. "Tommy?" Wilbur said with a frown, "What's wrong?"_

_Tommy stared at him, trying to figure out what he meant when he felt something warm and wet sliding down his cheeks. He reached up to swipe at his face and stared in confusion at the tears he had just wiped away. Why was he crying? He couldn't remember. He didn't feel upset. In fact he felt indescribably happy. So then why was he crying? Everything felt hazy, like he was trying to remember a dream he had just woken up from._

_"Tommy." Wilbur said, a small teasing smile spreading across his face. "Did you and Tubbo have a spat again?" There was amusement in his voice, but Tommy could hear the genuine concern beneath it. He wiped his face clear of tears, his churning thoughts suddenly dispersing. "No, we didn't. I guess I'm just feeling a little overwhelmed." Tommy looked over his shoulder at the group of people sleeping around the campfire at the bottom of the hill. They had officially declared their independence, and Tommy was to excited to even think about sleeping._

_Wilbur nodded in understanding and motioned to the ground next to him. Tommy sat with a grin. "So, what's the plan then? You know Dream isn't just gonna let this go. What's the plan to fight back against him?"_

_"Well, the first thing you need to do is get at least eight hours of sleep." Tommy fixed him with a flat look. "Wilbur I'm being serious."_

_"So am I." He shot back. "You can't run a revolution if you're dead on your feet." Tommy let out a groan and flopped onto his back with a huff. He stared up at the twinkling stars as Wilbur started playing the same melody again. The two sat in comfortable silence for a while, and between the soft grass and Wilbur's song Tommy found himself slowly nodding off. In an effort to stay awake he rolled onto his side and propped his head up on his hand. "What's that song? I don't think I've heard you play it before."_

_Wilbur grinned. "Well, I figured that if we're becoming a nation we're going to need an anthem. I don't have all the lyrics just yet, but I have the melody down for sure." He strummed the first few cords again and Tommy couldn't shake the nagging feeling he had heard it somewhere before. He just hummed in acknowledgement before a ear-splitting yawn came out of his mouth. "Go to sleep Tommy." Wilbur said fondly._

_Tommy blinked before sleepily rubbing his eye and lowing his head onto his arm. "We should send a letter to Techno and Phil, keep them updated." He mumbled out, not wanting to go to sleep just yet, but quickly losing the battle to stay conscious._

_"Don't worry, we'll send one soon." With that reassurance Tommy settled comfortably and let himself start to drift, only to interrupted by Wilbur. "Hey, Tommy? I know it can be hard to forgive people who hurt you, but maybe just hear what he has to say." It took his sluggish brain a minute to catch up to what he had said, but once it did he frowned. "What do you mean? I told you, me and Tubbo aren't fighting."_

_Wilbur suddenly looked much older, and turned to him with a sad smile. "I know. Goodnight Tommy." Tommy tried to sit up, but he found that he was unable to move as his eyelids slowly closed. As he felt himself slipping away he heard the guitar start playing again, but this time Wilbur started singing as well._

_"It's L'manburg."_

_"It's L'manburg."_

_"It's L'manburg"_

_"It's L'manburg......"_

***

Tommy woke up feeling like his stomach was trying to eat itself. He blearily cracked an eye open and had a moment of confusion when he was greeted by a stone wall before reality came crashing down. 

Oh. Oh right. He was here now. 

He pressed his fingers to his sternum and let out a slow breath, feeling the warm contentment sitting in his chest drain away and get replaced with a bitter hollowness. Burying his face in his arm he gave himself time to swallow back his tears and just focused on breathing. After a few minutes he rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. He didn't want to think about Wilbur. He had been successfully avoiding thinking about him for months, and he wasn't about to start now. 

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Heaving out a sigh he closed his eyes again and forced himself to to think about something else. His mind bounced between a few things before settling on another thing he really didn't want to think about. Dream. Or more specifically, how Dream knew he was here, and how he knew that Phil was the one who told him how to get here. Which meant that Phil was going to be under Dream's watchful eye for quite a while. Which meant that Tommy was going to be stuck here for a lot longer then he originally thought. 

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Tommy dug his palms into his eyes as he thought about what to do next. This entire time his plan had been to gather enough supplies to survive and wait for Phil to come check up on him, then demand to be taken to a real safehouse. He thought he would only have to wait a couple weeks at most before Phil would've shown up, but for all he knew it might be months before he was able to slip away. He didn't have that kind of time. 

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Tommy needed to get geared up as soon as possible. He needed to be able to defend himself against Dream, get his disc's back, and figure out how to get unexiled. Easier said then done. He felt a small flicker of hopelessness start to worm it's way into chest at the seemingly impossible tasks set before him. He couldn't even find iron, how the hell was he supposed to fight Dream. He only had a few seconds with that thought before his stomach rumbled loudly and snapped him out of it. Right, one step at a time. There was no point in freaking out about things a obviously couldn't accomplish right now. Tommy pushed himself up onto his feet and stretched. For now he would just focus on getting what he needed. Which at the moment was food. He could handle that. 

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He warily stared at the entrance for a moment before heading out, and had to squash down the immediate urge to turn right around and go back inside. He had managed to chop down a few of the bigger trees in the area, creating a small clearing in front of his entrance. It had seemed like a good idea at the time since it opened up the space, but today it just made him feel exposed and vulnerable. He took a few deep breaths and tried to focus on calming down. He was fine. It was a new day, the sun was out, and the wind was much calmer, only picking up enough to gently rustle the tree branches instead of howling loud enough to send shivers down Tommy's spine, and make him want to stay curled in the corner of his little shelter. 

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Tommy shook himself out of that thought quickly. He didn't want to think about that today, he had enough of it yesterday. Determined to shove the anxiety slowly creeping into chest down, Tommy shouldered his bow and headed out to get breakfast. He started tracking down some rabbits, and found himself growing increasingly tense the deeper he went into the woods. He had a white knuckle grip on his bow, unintentionally jumping anytime something moved in his peripheral vision, feeling eyes on him. 

After what felt like the longest hunt of his life he managed to get two rabbits, and was more then a little relieved to head back to his camp. He cleaned them both before sticking one on roasting spit over the campfire he had placed, the other one was he hung up in a tree for later. His eyes kept darting around warily as he waited for the rabbit to cook. He knew that he was being a little ridiculous, there was no way Dream was actually here, but he was still to rattled from yesterday to listen to logic. 

Once it was done he ate it as quickly as possible, burning his mouth in the process, before hastily retreating back inside. Back within the safety of the stone walls he felt some of the tightness in his chest ease up, and let his shoulders slump slightly. Placing his bow against the wall he ran his fingers through his hair before looking over to the entrance to his mineshaft. Maybe he would get lucky today. 

He walked over to his crafting table and made a few stone picks, sending a mournful glance towards the chest outside. That iron pick would come in real handy right now, unfortunately he didn't have anything of value to trade for it. Which took him down another line of pleasant thoughts. He was cut off from the village now. All those emeralds, sitting just out of reach. Why couldn't Dream had just left him alone? 

Actually, come to think of it, why had Dream shown up? He mentioned wanting to make a deal, but Tommy had to idea what it would have been about. Trading his disc's to no longer be exiled maybe? That was the only thing that came to mind. If it had been any other time he would have been curious enough to go ask himself, but his encounter yesterday still made goosebumps crawl along his skin. Something in the way he had sounded, the way he had phrased things, it sent off alarm bells in Tommy's head. Maybe he would work up the courage to ask eventually, but for now he was content to grab his tools and head back down into the mine.

He quickly settled into the familiar routine of it all, and inevitably his mind wander to the other elephant in the room. 

Techno. 

He found himself replaying how Techno had stepped up to protect him over and over again in his mind, and he had a hard time wrapping his head around it. He supposed an argument could be made that Techno just wanted Dream off his land, and that Tommy had just happened to be there, but it was a bit harder to explain away how he had told Tommy that he would be safe as long as he stayed in the forest. Or how he had, pretty damn blatantly, stood between him and Dream. 

__

A headache starting to form behind his eyes, but he just kept working away, determined to ignore it. Techno was a complicated subject. The last few encounters with the man had felt terribly jarring, first he had been yelling about how he wanted Tommy to die, only to turn up months later to keep an eye on him, and now he was here with Techno silently keeping watch over him, and occasionally giving him supplies. It was confusing to say the least.

__

He didn't know what to think. He kinda didn't want to think about it at all if he was being honest, but he had a creeping feeling that, since he was going to be stuck here for an unknown amount of time, he was going to have to figure out where he stood with Techno sooner rather than later. 

Almost from out of nowhere the dream he had that morning popped into his mind. Wilbur's words of 'just listen to what he has to say' hit him like a slap in the face. His pickaxe froze halfway to the stone as Tommy sat there with racing thoughts. Surely that hadn't actually been..... 

No, no. It has just been a dream. Just a stupid dream that didn't mean anything. He went back to mining. Focusing on just chipping away at the stone, and viciously ignoring the growing pain in his chest. 

*** 

He couldn't really tell time down in the mine, so he usually just worked until he was hungry, and after a few hours, just like clockwork, his stomach started rumbling. Tommy kept working at the wall in front of him for just a bit longer, he wanted the clear this space out before heading up, and after he finished he still found himself stalling, trying to avoid having to go back up. It was almost funny, yesterday he had wanted nothing more then to do anything other then mine, and today he didn't want to do anything but mine. 

He took a deep breath and rolled his shoulders. He couldn't stay down here forever, might as well just get it over with. He traded his pick for his bow and reluctantly headed over to the entrance. At least he had gotten a second rabbit this morning so he wouldn't have to worry about hunting again. 

Tommy squeezed out of the entrance, lost in thought as he tried to decide if he should eat the rabbit he had caught that morning, or if he should save that for dinner. He was so caught up in his own thoughts it took him a second to realize he had a guest. 

The campfire was burning brightly, and there, sitting on the opposite side, was Techno. The skull mask was off, probably tucked under his cape somewhere, and Tommy found himself relaxing at it's absence. It was easier to be around him without it. A tense silence filled the air as they both stared at each other. 

__

Tommy shifted from foot to foot, trying to figure out what to do before quietly deciding fuck it. That was his campfire and he was hungry. Despite that thought he was still wary as he stepped forward, unsure of what Techno wanted. To be fair Techno looked just as unsure as Tommy, unable to keep eye contact and fidgeting with his axe. 

__

Cutting his rabbit down from the tree he slowly walked up. Now that he was closer Tommy saw the there were a couple of potatoes cooking on a flat stone in front of Techno. He highly doubted the man had come all the way out to his base because he needed to cook some food, but he wasn't about to ask why he was really here so he just placed the rabbit on the spit and sat down on the stump that was opposite to Techno, and stared at the fire while waiting for the food to cook. The silence only grew thicker the longer they sat there.

__

"So, what have you been up to?" Tommy didn't lift his eyes from the fire as he spoke.

__

Techno stayed quiet for a few seconds before clearing his throat. "Well, I've been sleeping, and farming." A few beats of silence passed as Tommy waited for him to continue. When he didn't Tommy flickered his eyes up, was greeted by Techno's blank expression, and then promptly burst out laughing.

__

And just like that, the tension was broken 

__

"Seriously? That's all you've been doing? God you are so fucking boring." Tommy managed to get out between peels of laughter. He didn't miss the flicker of mirth in Techno's eyes, even as his face stayed carefully blank. "Well, I'm not sure what else I would be doing." 

__

Calming down a bit Tommy swiped as his eyes with a smile. "I dunno, thought you would be like, getting a shit ton of materials? Making potions? Ya know, doing something exciting?" 

__

Techno huffed softly. "Well, there's no point in pouring all of my energy into those things if I can't even feed myself." Tommy's smile grew wider. "Do you still have that ridiculous hat?"

__

"My sun hat looks perfectly normal, what do you mean ridiculous?" 

__

"It's all floppy and shit." 

__

"Tommy, it's to keep the sun out of my eyes. It's supposed to be floppy." 

__

"No, I think that there's something wrong with it." Techno's blank mask finally cracked as his eye twitched in annoyance, which sent Tommy into another fit of laughter. He hadn't realized how much he missed talking to another person, even if said person looked like they were regretting their life decisions. "And what about you?," Techno asked, "What have you been up to?" 

__

Tommy's stopped laughing and dropped his gaze to the fire again. What had he been doing the past few months? Well, he had been keeping himself so busy that he wouldn't be able to think about what happened that day, trying to figure out how the hell he was going to get the disc's back, avoiding talking to anyone about Wilbur or Techno, getting less and less sleep each night, and getting himself exiled. Instead of saying any of that he just said, "I've been hunting rabbits, and trying to find iron."

__

"Wow Tommy, that sounds awfully boring. You should stop trying to survive and find something more exciting to do with your time." Techno said dryly, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. 

__

"Fuck off." Tommy shot back, even as a smile swept across his face once again. Techno laughed at his rebuttal. "How have you been mining for like three days, and not found a single piece of iron?" 

__

"Well it's not like I'm doing it on purpose, I just have shit luck. Honestly I think this place is cursed and all of the iron got turned into coal." Tommy huffed out. Techno just shook his head and turned his attention back onto the food. A few moments of silence passed before Tommy started shifting restlessly. He had a mountain of questions he wanted to ask, like why Techno was being so nice after what he had said and done, but he knew how that was going to go and was reluctant to break the peaceful atmosphere. 

__

But he had also never been good and the whole not talking thing. "Do you know why I had to leave?" He found himself blurting out. Techno tensed, silently eyeing him before slowly shaking his head. Tommy mustered up his best shit eating grin. "Because I fucked up George's house. I mean, I like seriously messed that thing up." 

__

A few beats of silence passed before Techno let out a huff and the tension bled out of his shoulders. "Of course you did." He said with a smile, then gestured with his hand for Tommy to continue. Tommy eagerly launched into the story, wildly waving his hands around as he told Techno everything. About halfway through the rabbit finished cooking, and he 'traded' half of it for one of the potatoes. 

__

It was...nice. The warmth of the fire crackling between them, the way Techno started laughing with him when he told him how he had tried to put the fire out on George's roof by climbing on top of Ranboo's shoulders, only for them both to go tumbling backwards into a pond. It was all so comfortably familiar. He knew that they would have to talk about everything eventually, but for now he found that the aching hollowness in his chest felt just a bit smaller, and that he didn't once think about red eyes or howling winds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It only took five chapters and 10k+ words, but these two are finally talking to each other! Can I get a hell yeah!!
> 
> Also, hello!! I am still alive!! I'm so sorry that this chapter took so long to come out, I kept going back and rewriting so much stuff so many times because I just couldn't get the vibes right. Hopefully it was worth the wait!! <3
> 
> You know I'm not even going to say that I'll go back and check for spelling errors later because I never do lmaooo. If there's spelling errors I guess they're just going to be there forever


End file.
